May 2, 2013

Cult of Erinyes - A Place to Call My Unknown

The enigmatically titled A Place to Call My Unknown by Cult of Erinyes, available on Les Acteurs de l'Ombre Productions Bandcamp, is a hidden gem of majestic black metal. This is the Belgian bands debut full-length from 2011; the previous EP, the raw Golgotha was featured here. In an interview with Mortem Zine, Cult of Erinyes stated that "With the full-length, we worked on the sound a bit more, but I think we still managed to keep it rather organic as well".

And yes, production values on A Place to Call My Unknown are good; the sound is large and forceful, this combined with the harsh vocal performance by Mastema makes for a pretty aggressive sounding album. The aggression is tempered by the varied songwriting though. Songs take their twists and turns, and tempos vary. Brutal riffing gives way to more atmospheric parts, some utilizing clean singing. The drumming, by Baal, is nuanced for black metal, it backs the songs with interesting fills, and the riffs with speedy blasting.

In another interview, with Don't Count On It Reviews, Corvus (Bass, Guitars, Keyboards) describes the music as "ritualistic" and says that "It’s the reason why almost all the songs have a precise moment where everything will implode". He goes on to mention the second part of "Black Eyelids" as the best example, and rightly so; when Mastema intones "My hands are shaking almost constantly" shortly before the song explodes, the tension is palpable. According to the interview, Cult of Erinyes had the skeleton of the next album in place, and in 2012 they released a split with Zifir. I hope that album finds a home on Bandcamp too.